Question 1

Why do we use vous instead of tu in this sentence?

Accepted Answer

We use vous because the speaker is talking to a Monsieur (sir). In French, vous is the formal way to say 'you' when speaking to someone you do not know well or in a professional situation. Using tu would be too casual here.

Question 2

Since vous is often plural, shouldn't the adjective be polis with an 's' at the end?

Accepted Answer

That is a great catch! When vous addresses a group of people, adjectives do get an 's'. But here, vous is being used as the formal singular to address just one man. When formal vous means one person, the adjective stays singular. So we use poli.

Question 3

If I were saying this to a woman, how would the sentence change?

Accepted Answer

You would change Monsieur to Madame, and you would add an 'e' to the adjective to make it feminine, giving us Non, vous êtes très polie, Madame. The spoken pronunciation of poli and polie is exactly the same, though!

Question 4

How do I pronounce vous êtes? Do I say the 's' in vous?

Accepted Answer

Yes, you do! Normally the 's' at the end of vous is silent. But because êtes starts with a vowel sound, we connect the words together. This is a rule called liaison, and it makes it sound like 'vou-zêtes'.

Non, vous êtes très poli, Monsieur.

Breakdown of Non, vous êtes très poli, Monsieur.

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